Writings of Ai
by RageOfFluffy
Summary: It is 3 ASC and the Air Nomads have been brought to tatters, the Fire Nation burns the world! Only few Airbenders remain, only few survive... One of these cases being Ai. This is the story of Ai's journy, as written in his journals...
1. Chapter 1: What Do I Say

第三天 杏月, 三年後 偉大的彗星 - _Day 3 of the 2nd Month, 3 ASC_

* * *

What do I say? What do I say when my entire people has been eradicated? What is the right thing to say, if there is anything to say at all. I can't say it to anyone. No, not like that...

It's been three years now... Has it been so long? I still remember the temple burning. The screams, the smoke. I remember my old master... I remember _him_. I don't want to remember though. It hurts.

Today has been bleak, just like any other day. Nothing special. I woke up, like I always do. I washed and shaved, like I always do. I ate the scraps from my last meal, as I always do. Now I walk, as I always do. I'm starting to think I'm cursed to wander aimlessly forever. Perhaps it was my destiny to die with the rest of my people, to burn, to be a corpse. But now I just walk on, nowhere to go, nothing to do but this. Perhaps one day someone will dig up my journal and get to know me. Perhaps one day someone will know, perhaps one day the world will know of Ai, the last Airbender.

The last Airbender. It has a ring to it. Although I hate to say it, although it hurts when I utter the words... Maybe that's what I will call my writings. The last Airbender.

I do not believe anyone else escaped. I do not believe the Avatar did either. But perhaps there is hope. Perhaps I could somehow save my people. I could find a wife, we could be nomads, just going where destiny takes us. Then maybe she will give birth to Airbenders... Maybe so... But the Avatar... The Avatar will probably be reborn into the Water Tribes. I guess I can only hope... It's only a story though, and they say it will be a couple more years anyway. I wonder why the Fire Nation is doing this. I wonder how the balance was broken. I wonder why the Avatar did not stop the Fire Lord before the war started! I wonder why I was betrayed! Why did _he_ give us away? Why did he betray his own people, the world? I heard there were more like him. They are all dead now, they deserve it. There is no forgiveness for betrayers! But the Fire Nation betrayed the world too? No, it was the Fire Lord, not the nation. For them there is yet hope...

But now I grow tired. The rain is pouring outside my shelter here in the charred remains of Taku. To think they killed everyone here, destroyed everything. Just for... Whatever they want out of this. I guess it's time I slept. Perhaps tomorrow I can find something to eat...


	2. Chapter 2: The Last Airbender

第四天 杏月, 三年後 偉大的彗星 - _Day 4 of the 2nd Month, 3 ASC_

* * *

I didn't feel like moving today...

I had no choice...

* * *

It seemed as though the skies were tired, exhausted from last night's downpour. The grey clouds were thinning, but small droplets still found there way down. The ruins of Taku seemed to sigh as the low thunder grumbled, as if saying it too was tiered. The world seemed so drained, but the war has only begun...

I thought today would be uneventful and bleak, just like most others. I started my day by simply staring at the ceiling, counting cracks and scorch marks. I didn't have to get up for anyone. Nobody was expecting me, nobody even knew of my existence. It's nice to not have a care in the world, but still, it makes one feel purposeless and unneeded.

_"Unneeded."_

That's what _he_ said about us, about his own people.

_"Unneeded."_

I let the word play in my mind, over and over.

_"Unneeded."_

When was the last time I heard it? When was the last time I spoke to another living human being? Has it been so long that I cannot even remember? No. I do remember. It was today...

"Listen here, you little brat! We don't need any more workers! It's unneeded!"

"But..."

"You're unneeded!" He spat.

The young man's words seemed so familiar...

_"The world doesn't need any Air Nomads! Air Nomads are unneeded! You are unneeded!"_

I tried to contain myself, I really tried! This man wasn't making it easy.

"You know what?"

_"The world"_

"doesn't"

_"need"_

"you!"

At that moment I forgot about trying to contain myself. This man was asking for it. The next thing I heard was a strong gust of wind and a hard thwack. The next thing I saw was my bloodied fist extended and the big, burly man unconscious against the wall of his abode, his meat stall shattered.

I froze. People all around me froze. Did I just... Airbend? I turns out I did. A mistake that I though I would not soon see the end of. People starred at me in shock. No one moved.

I did not feel like moving...

Soon enough I heard peoples whispers starting to arise. They started sounding louder and louder. I could hear each and every one as an individual voice piercing my very thoughts. The world was spinning and my heart was racing. An anxiety attack. They had been coming back to me. The first one I had ever experienced was when _he_ tried to kill me, and since then I've had plenty, but they gradually disappeared.

I really did not feel like moving, but I was soon persuaded by a blast of fire landing at my feet. I did not dare turn to look at my attacker, instead I fled, grabbing a sack of meats and fruits from a young lady in a dark cloak. For a moment it seemed the world slowed down as her golden eyes pierced my soul. No, they were soft. The look she gave me was sympathetic, and it wasn't the golden orbs of the Fire Nation...

I didn't have time to admire her any longer, I had to make a run for it!

Those eyes...

For reasons unknown to me, I felt my energies rejuvenated and my resolve lifted. For the first time in three years... I laughed as I ran. I felt the freedom of the air around me, the joy of it's movements. The feeling was glorious!

"Halt! Get back here!"

As if I would do that!

I closed my eyes as I ran and let the wind carry me. I ran faster than I ever thought I could. What was this feeling? I didn't care...

* * *

After ten minutes rest I was still panting from my swift journey. It wasn't the running, no, it was the laughing. It felt good to laugh like that. Dare I say it, I felt happy. Maybe there is such a thing as hope, or maybe it's just the false delusions of a melodramatic young man. A melodramatic young Airbender. The last Airbender.

"At least say thanks for those supplies I gave you."

I jumped in surprise at the sudden intrusion. I could feel my pulse rising and my face warming. I shut my eyes, no I shut them tight.

"Relax." The voice was soothing. It was like... Like a gentle autumn breeze...

I did relax. I don't know how or why, but I did. That same feeling came over me again. That peace, that joy. My spirit felt so free...

"Who are you?" I said as I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was two big golden eyes and the smile. Another thing I haven't seen in years, a smile.

"That is not important." She replied as she swept a strand of onyx-black hair from her face.

"What is important is that you should meet my sister."

"Meet your sister?"

I wondered what she was talking about.

"I hardly think I'm in any state for that!"

"You have no idea!" She giggled.

"All I'm asking is that you come meet me and my sister."

"Why?"

"Because you are special."

With that she turned around and started for the exit. I did not know what she was talking about, and to be honest I still don't, but nevertheless I was intrigued... Reluctantly.

"But where should I meet you?" I yelled out after her.

She stopped for a moment.

"Oh, you'll know."

And so she resumed her walk, leaving me staring out into the cold. Time has passed so quickly and I found long shadows stretching towards me.

* * *

Perhaps I will go meet her and her sist... No... Where do I even look for her... But I guess she was right... I am special. I am the last Airbender.


	3. Chapter 3: Ruminations

第五天 杏月, 三年後 偉大的彗星 - _Day 5 of the 2nd Month, 3 ASC_

* * *

_Perhaps I will go meet her and her sist... No... Where do I even look for her... But I guess she was right... I am special. I am the last Airbender._

This thought still echoed in my mind.

The last Airbender.

I woke up wondering who she was, that woman, my mind a cacophony of thought. What by the spirits did she mean? How would I know where to find her? And why... Why... What happened to me? This mental ghost seemed eternal... What happened yesterday? Why was I so... Happy? I still wonder. I still wonder if perhaps it was her... Those eyes...

But either way, it doesn't matter now. I should try to forget what happened. I did try, I couldn't... I still can't. It's troublesome...

Like I said, I tried to forget but I couldn't. I decided that I had to start moving, staying here after what happened in the market place was too dangerous and it still is, but something was trying to keep me here. I don't know what it was but tried to give it no mind, and so I set out for who knows where.

* * *

The skies were still ever grey, what seemed to be sunlight trying to creep into the day had quickly abated. Small droplets of rain fell out of the dark sky, but the sky was yet unsure, still trying to decide between a light mist and a thunderous downpour. The ruins of Taku were now starting to vanish past the horizon, I didn't really know where I was going... I was just thinking.

I started thinking about my childhood, or at least a few years back...

Being raised an Air Nomad, I never knew my father or mother, I hated the monks for it, for their whole way of life. There were so many occasions when I found myself running away to the small Air Nomad towns in the lower regions of our mountains. I spent so much time in those places just looking for my parents. Of course _he_ knew where to look for me and found me with regular ease. I spent so many days and nights just thinking, thinking of how, one day, I will be old enough to leave the temple and start a family of my own. I wouldn't send my children to a temple like many others, no, I wouldn't...

I still remember _him_. He was the closest thing I had to a father, sometimes I even found myself wondering if maybe he was my real father. It's only now that I realize that I was foolish to let my mind slip down such a chain of thought. A father wouldn't betray and attack his own son! I don't think I'll ever live to see the day that happens...

But still... He was still my friend...

* * *

_"Ai! Ai where are you!"_ I remember him calling.

I was hiding behind some crates near a dock in Panu, a small Air Nomad fishing town. I was seven at the time.

_"Ai!"_ He didn't sounded angry, no, he sounded furious.

I remember clutching my legs close to my body as I cried. I didn't want him to find me. I didn't want to go back... As I compressed my body into a tighter ball, I accidentally knocked over the crate. I tried to run but it was futile. He grabbed me from behind, constricting my movements. I thought I was in very deep trouble, but instead he sat me down on one of the crates. I remember his eyes... They were already so cold...

_"Ai... I don't know what I'm going to do with you..."_

But of course he knew... He was going to murder us all and leave me to die... Alone.

* * *

I remember the day they all died...

I don't want to remember any more...


	4. Chapter 4: Sisters of the Wind

第六天 杏月, 三年後 偉大的彗星 - _Day 6 of the 2nd Month, 3 ASC_

* * *

The last night I had found a small cave to sleep in. I would avoid towns for now... The Fire Nation army is ruthless and they believe all Airbenders should be dead, I don't want to risk my life just yet...

I didn't know what to think when I woke up to two smiles in my face. I found myself drinking deep in whatever smell emanated from them... It was beautiful and unearthly... It made me feel... Elated. I really didn't know what to think when I saw who it was. The woman. And who I presumed to be her sister.

"You didn't come to meet us." Said the one I was familiar with.

"It's okay though, we'll forgive you for now." Continued her sister, a big grin spread across her face.

"How... How did you find me?"

"It was easy, we followed your sp..." Before the black-haired one could finish, her sister, who's hair was silver, put a hand on her mouth, and finished her sister's sentence.

"We followed your stench." She was lying.

Though I did carry a rather unpleasant odour at the time, they thought so too...

* * *

After being drenched in ice-cold water, clothes on and all, I was told to go wash myself with a small bar of soap, a bucket full of steaming water, and a towel. I complied. The steaming water looked inviting. The air was cold outside and in. But my spirit was warm...

I returned from my bathing at the far end of the cave, clad in a soft linen shirt and pants left for me on the floor. I felt refreshed and happy. When I returned to the front of the cave, I was greeted by a warm fire and the smell of eggs, meat, and spiced rice cooking.

"Who are you?" I muttered to myself.

"Ai! Get over here!" Called the young woman with the black hair.

"Are those..."

"Yes, they're the supplies my sister gave you. It's a good thing they didn't spoil." The silver haired sister answered my question.

"But I... I forgot them at Taku." No one answered this question. "And how do you know my name?"

"Oh, I have my ways... Woman's intuition." I still don't know.

"Now come over here and sit down, I'm going to cut your hair." I was a little taken aback at first, I didn't like the idea of a stranger touching me a sharp implements... Or cutting my hair. But after a moments hesitation I made my way to a flat rock, one that was a large stalagmite before...

_How did it..._ I didn't even bother asking this question out loud.

As I drew near to them I felt a peaceful aura come over me. I sat down and felt the young women's hands touch my neck. They were as soft as air.

"Close your eyes unless you want hair in them." I doubt that was the reason.

I felt her cut my hair ever so gently. I neglected to see what it was she was cutting it with, but it was thin, small, and gentle. I knew my hair was being cut off, but I felt none of it touch my body on the way down...

I think I drifted into a light slumber, or perhaps I just lost myself to the relaxing aura I had felt, but when I returned Tsumi was done. Yes, when I returned I knew their names. The black-haired women was called Tsumi, and the women with the silver hair was Seelah.

It seems I dozed of for quite a while, since when I awoke my hair was barely hanging over my ears, my face was clean-shaven, and a warm and tasty meal was set out on a blanket.

I felt different.

Light.

Free.

Like an Airbender.

"Are you just going to sit there or are you going to come eat?" Questioned Seelah. She and Tsumi were already seated on the soft blanket.

I smiled and made my way to the meal. It smelled sweet and spicy. I realized that it wasn't just the meal, my foul stench was now replaced by the smell of cloves and bay-leaves.

"I really don't know what to say." I really didn't.

"Well, you could tell us the truth, Ai." I was a little shocked by Seelah's statement.

"What... What do you mean?"

"Ai. You can't hide it. You are an Airbender." Tsumi was very direct and straightforward when she spoke. I felt myself flush and I became dizzy for a second.

I didn't speak.

"Who are you?" I asked.

They didn't reply.

"Who are you?" I echoed. This time I started to sob. I didn't like this.

I missed my people. They knew it. The comforted me.

I still miss my people.

After the meal I dozed off once again. The blanket was soft and in helped against the hard floor of the cave. I dreamt.

* * *

_"You are worthless, Ai. The world doesn't need you."_ He spoke. From that scene of what he thought was my death, I went back a little longer...

In my dream he held me as I cried. I held me as a father holds his son.

_"It's okay now, Ai. It's okay."_

I dreamt about my past again. I was only six-years-old. I remember how I admired him and wanted to be just like him when I grew up. I dreamt about that time when I tried to be like him in every way, including shaving not only my scalp. I had watched him shave many times. It fascinated me. This time I believed I was grown-up enough to start shaving myself. It's evident I wasn't. He walked in to find me clutching my cheek, blood dripping down my small hands.

_"Ai! What happened!"_

He cleaned my cut and held me like a father.

After the cut had healed, he showed me how to shave my face.

He really was like my father.

To think he betrayed us. He betrayed me.

I hate him

But I dreamt of this time. I don't know why...

* * *

"You dwell on him too much." It was Tsumi. I was still drowsy, but I was awake.

"Huh?" I yawned.

"You dwell on that man too much, Ai, and you dwell too much on your past."

_Who are you?_

"We are the sisters of the wind."


	5. Chapter 5: Revert

第七天 杏月, 三年後 偉大的彗星 - _Day 7 of the 2nd Month, 3 ASC_

* * *

The previous night was serene. Rain poured down and the low rumbles of thunder was rather calming. It has been a long time since I slept peacefully and warmly. The crackling of the fire and the feel of the soft cotton blanket was perfect, it coincided with the rain and thunder to form something beautiful. Seelah and Tsumi left, though. They went to run an errand, or at least that is what they told me, and they were gone the whole night and day.

I still find it impossible to place them. They are... Different. I don't know, it's like they can read my thoughts and bring me peace. I felt myself relying on them for that peace, that is why today was different...

I woke up to the smell of smoldering embers. For a moment I lost myself in the glowing red, only to snap back into reality by a loud crack of thunder. I shook my head and yawned, regarding my surroundings. They were somehow different from the previous day, they were empty, lifeless, dark...

As I used my Airbending to get the fire started on a fresh log, I thought about them. The sisters of the wind. They know my secret. Who are they...

It seemed to me that things would always be like they were yesterday. I found myself thinking things like, ''things will only get beter now''... What a childish allusion. But perhaps... Perhaps what the sisters told me today... Later. First I would recount the day...

* * *

I didn't do much in the morning. I tried to meditate and calm my mind, a practice I had abandoned little after _that_ happened.

It didn't work. I couldn't find peace, detachment, joy, freedom. I thought to myself... I thought I was no longer an Air Nomad... Just an Airbender. Nothing more...

Since I could no longer find the inner peace to meditate, I decided to do the second best., reflect and remember.

_"You dwell on that man too much, Ai, and you dwell too much on your past."_

I knew this now, still...

I started to dwell on the past... On him... And on her...

I remembered the first time I met Sapana so clearly...

* * *

_"Remember,"_ Began the ageing nun. _"a sky bison is a friend for ever."_ She smiled and handed each of us an apple.

I wasn't paying attention to my immediate situation, rather I was looking out at the misty mountains, but there was something obstructing my view. A young girl about the same age as me and the other Air Nomad children around me.

Sapana...

Everyone was so caught up laughing at one certain Airbender caught between the floor and a bison's tail, that it was easy for me to sneak away.

_"I'm Ai."_ I remember saying, straight to the point.

She looked at me, a hopeful smile spread across her face. She had been crying.

_"I... I'm Sapana."_

I sat down next to her on the ledge. For a moment we just looked out onto the vista, then I looked down. The red apple was still in my hand. I wasn't really sure what to do next.

I looked up and stuck the apple out in her general direction.

_"Here."_ I said bluntly. She took the apple and giggled.

_"Thanks, Ai."_

We just sat and shared the apple. We did not need to talk. We just enjoyed each other's presence...

Soon enough there was another presence behind me. It was him.

_"Ai! What do you think you are doing?"_

He was at his wits end with me. I knew it.

_"I..." _

"No excuses, Ai!"_ He grasped me by the hand and led me away with a tug. Sapana smiled sympathetically. I smiled back..._

I hated him.

* * *

"I HATE YOU!" I shouted into nothing. My voice echoed through the dark cave. There was no more peace.

* * *

_"I hate you!"_ I shouted at him, tears rolling down my face. _"I hate you! I hate you!"_

_"That's what you say every time, Ai."_

As if he knew me.

_"Ai. You can't go on being so disobedient."_

As if he knew what was best.

_"It's only because I care."_

As if he cared.

* * *

I didn't feel the peace I had felt earlier. I felt like I had before. Worse. I felt pathetic, and I probably looked pathetic, curled up in a bundle in the dirt. Crying.

* * *

_"Wh... Why?"_ I managed. The wind had been knocked out of me, blood and bruise covered my body.

_"Because the world is changing and it doesn't need the Air Nomads."_

I looked at him. There was so much greed in his eyes.

_"And the world doesn't need you."_ He lifted his staff high in the air. I flinched even before the blunt end hit me in the stomach and then in the leg.

I couldn't yell or scream when the weapon made contact with me head.

_"You are worthless, Ai. The world doesn't need you."_ He knelt down, forcing me to look into his eyes. It was blurry. _"You were always so disobedient and I had to punish you. You always said you hated me. But now, now you do hate me, don't you?"_

I loathed him.

_"You were always so worthless."_

I despised him.

_"I'm doing the world a favour."_ He bashed my head against the wall and his foot made contact with my ribs...

* * *

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" I roared, blood splattering into my mouth from my raw throat... Then I went still. Just wailing in the muck. My body shaking with silent fits of hatred and sorrow...

The blade neatly slid across my wrist, the thin line turning red.

"I hate you..." It was all I could say.

"I... Hate you..." I fell asleep.

* * *

"Ai!" I woke up to the sound of Tsumi's voice. "Ai!"

Seelah was already busy cleaning the cuts I had made on my arms.

"What's going on with you, Ai?" Tsumi wore an expression I had not seen in a long time. Concern. And her eyes emanated warmth.

I was so tired.

"You weren't here... I became..." I mumbled.

Seelah shook her head, slowly...

"Ai... You can't always rely on us to help you, you must learn to help yourself. You must change your mind about the world."

"Remember what I told you back in Taku?" Tsumi swiftly succeeded her sister in words.

"I am... Special..."

Indeed.

Seelah and Tsumi will help me help myself. I was tiered, but their aura rejuvenated me, and I wrote...

Now I will sleep...


	6. Chapter 6: As the Wind Blows

第八天 杏月, 三年後 偉大的彗星 - _Day 8 of the 2nd Month, 3 ASC_

* * *

At first I was annoyed when the sisters woke me at what was very, very early in the morning. I realized then that it was something I had not experienced in a long time: mundane annoyance. It has been so long since I had to worry about anything so trivial... It was soothing...

"Ai... A-ai..." Tsumi whispered, prodding me in the chest. "Ai. Wake up."

I slowly opened one eye, only for it too to be poked.

"Ow!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing?" I shot up, rubbing my eye.

"Oh good, you're up!"

"What's good about it?" I felt myself doze back off, an action which was evidently unappreciated by Tsumi. I realized this when I started choking and found her hands firmly clutched around my throat.

_They know I'm an Airbender..._ I thought. _But I can't strike a woman..._

Soon enough my thoughts became obsolete and I suspect I blacked out. I awoke when a bucket of cold water hit me in the face... Bucket and all. It seemed to me that the sisters had lost their... Subtlety.

I felt again like I had no care in the world...

It felt bliss...

"Well," I heard Seelah say. "now that you are finally awake, I guess we can get moving."

"Is it wise? We finally found a place where the Fire Nation can't find me." I started, examining my surroundings.

"Hmm, you're acting like this is about you, like you are on some kind of mission."

"Well, Tsumi, my mission is to stay alive."

Tsumi sighed, regarding Seelah to speak for her.

"Well Ai, what's the point of living when you sit around in a cave, just waiting. You can't wait for life to happen, you have to make it happen. We said we will help you, but being stagnant and afraid will make it impossible."

_I guess they are right, rust never sleeps, after all..._ I ruminated once more.

"Okay, but... Where will we go?"

The sisters chuckled.

"Aren't you an Airbender, Ai?" A smile spread across Seelah's porcelain face. "You walk as the wind blows."

"How would you know about Airbenders?" I asked disgruntled.

"You... You will find out soon enough."

* * *

I still remember the air that night. It was cold and thin and caressed my skin with a frosty hand. I was 14, and it was the second-to-last time I would see her. The aroma of sweet lotus hung in the evening. The stars were brilliant and clouds of glittering silver blue painted the black heavens. Small lights dotted the mist-shrouded hills...

_"Ai."_ She greeted me simply.

_"Sapana._" I turned to face her, hugging her tenderly.

Her lips warmed mine...

Her heart set mine racing...

For many moments we stood in each other's arms. Her breath was soft against my neck. We just held each other. I wanted her...

I miss her...

Our lips met one more time, and they moved together. She exited me... And she calmed me down... I could feel her heartbeat, her breath, her energy. For a moment I thought I could peer into her soul... Perhaps then she delved into mine...

It occurs to me now that we were still young then. I had seen but 14 summers and she 13. But our minds and hearts were past our years, and they could love.

_"Ai,"_ Sapana pulled back, smiling slyly. _"I suddenly feel like going to the hot-springs."_ Her tone matched her smile.

The Eastern Air Temple's hot-springs were something unique. Located deep in one of the ravines bellow the south bridge, it was nestled in a lush garden and steep moss-covered rock. At night the only light was the moon and stars, reflected in the water and countless shiny stones.

We made our way past the feasting Air Nomads, silently descending the long staircases until we reached our goal. The sweet lotus aroma stemmed from here. There were several night-blooming flowers around the steaming pond.

_"Ai..."_ She bit her lip, kissed me, and trotted behind a bush. I then realized what she was doing... And what she wanted me to do...

I left my garments on one of the pagodas and dipped into the warm waters. Sapana was already in, and although the light was dim and my eyes had yet to be accustomed to the dark grove, I could clearly make out her form...

_"Sapana..."_

* * *

We quickly reached the foot of the mountains. We were met by a vast, sprawling field of grass and wild flowers. The night was starting to fail and the sun's light had already started to wash the sky, despite the solar disc not making it's appearance as of yet.

"How far do we go?" I inquired.

"As far as we need to." Seelah simply replied.

"Uhg!" I grunted. "Enough with all the cryptic words. Please just give me some straight answers.

"I don't know, Ai, I always placed you as the deep thinking type."

"And enough with the teasing, Tsumi."

Seelah sighed and stopped in her tracks. For a moment she was still, wiping a lock of hair from her face. Then her golden eyes met mine. They were quite striking in the night... Almost glowing...

"Ai. Remember what I told you earlier? About how we will help you, and how you must do your part?"

"Yes." I felt like a child being scolded.

"Well, that includes not complaining about everything like a paranoid old lady." I had never thought Seelah was capable of such temper. "Look, Ai. We are almost at our destination. There is... A grove... There we will reveal our nature to you, and there we can find solace. It's not far, it's about the distance from Taku to you're cave."

I nodded, pretending to remember how far it was. If I did remember correctly, we were almost half-way.

Their eyes... Their auras... Their... Grove?

* * *

_"I love you, Ai."_

_"I love you too, Sapana."_ I kissed her.

The steam from the hot-spring was refreshing, and the scent of the loquat tree was invigorating. Or perhaps it was my mind...

Or perhaps it was Sapana...

She moved her body ever closer to mine, but I respected her and I kept myself away.

But I loved her...

Was it out of respect for her or was it the constant fear of _him_ catching us together. I still despised him...

I could still not utter his name, but I feel I can put it to paper.

Adar.

* * *

We traversed the large field in mostly silence, but it wasn't awkward. I took the time to try and listen once more. To listen to the earth and the air and to nature.

I remember how Sapana used her Airbending to grab a ripe loquat from a low branch. It was late winter and this unusual fruit smelled tangy and sweet. She peeled the skin with her teeth, spitting it to the nearby flowerbed. Some of the juices trickled down her tan skin. She bit a piece of the fruit and held the rest to my mouth. I gave it nibble at first, then a large bite. It was juicy and delicious. It made me yearn even more for her...

I could see the trees in the near distance, and I guessed we were reaching our destination.

As we neared the grove I felt a warmth come over me. It was like what I experienced when I first met Tsumi. I was... Different... Calm... Tranquil... Free...

At last we reached the grove... The sisters told me to sleep and rejuvenate myself...

I slept. I dreamt.

* * *

_"Almost right. Remember the wrist movement."_ Adar smiled.

_"Okay,"_ I breathed. _"Pull in. Around. Wrist. Aaand..."_ I flung my arms forward, a gust of wind escaped my palms. Before I knew it, I was starring at a small ant helping itself to a crumb. Adar loomed over me, laughing. I laughed.

_"Don't worry, Ai. I'm sure you'll get it!"_

I shot back up, a fierce look on face face. I repeated the moves, but this time I directed my attack at him. I lost my balance once more, but this time Adar joined my in the dust. My gust of wind threw him into a cherry bush.

We laughed.

Life was bliss...

And I awoke.

* * *

The sun had already confirmed it's place in the sky. It was only now that I took in fully what was around me... Lush trees and beautiful wild flowers. Strange stones and a mossy alcove. The sky was still pink and purple, and few stars dotted the blue.

There were no storm clouds. No rain. No darkness.

"Ai." I was greeted by Tsumi. She looked serious, it was strange. This night was strange. It was like a dream. It did not feel right...

"The spring equinox draws ever near. It's time we told you."

Whatever it is they will tell me, they will tell me now and it will take some time. I will be tired when they are done.

I shall record the following events tomorrow.


End file.
